Love Over Time
by Gwendolyn Inman
Summary: When a simple trip to get ski gear turns into an unfortunate misunderstanding, and a school trip only causes Adrien and Marinette to be even more tangled up in each other, how will their friendship fare? Two year time skip Adrienette slow-burn!
1. Chapter 1

"I can't thank you enough for coming out with me. I know you have that art project due before the trip, so I'll try to make this quick," Adrien said after stepping out of his car. Marinette smiled and shook her head. They were no longer in all the same classes, Adrien deciding to take a more business focused route of study while Marinette pursued her passion for fashion in the arts program. However they still took litterature and history together, and they were in the same homeroom, and were therefore both going on a four day trip to Grindlewald, Germany.

"I actually already finished that, I was inspired, so I worked all night on it. Anyway, its no problem, what are friends for?" She said as they entered Snow Emotion, a store that catered mostly to professional, or at least frequent, skiers and snowboarders. Marinette had never been here, as all her snow gear had been bought at a larger, and much less expensive, sporting goods store.

In the two years since Adrien had joined her class, she had grown to accept that they would probably never end up together. She still held a kernel of hope that he would one day wake up and realize his dream girl had been standing right in front of him, but that was just a kernel. She was more than happy to just be his friend, working with him on history projects and helping him buy gear for a ski trip.

"So what do I need?" He said, looking at the racks of custom skis and snowboards. Marinette looked moved closer towards the more essential things like gloves and jackets.

"We are renting skis and boots there, so you don't need to get either of those, but since your dad already cleared you to "get what your friend feels you need", you might as well just get all the standard gear," she replied, looking a all the brightly colored waterproof parkas. Not a second later, a sales associate popped out of absolutely nowhere.

"Did you say 'all the standard gear?'" He said. Marinette jumped away from the rack she was examining.

"Ah!" She gave as her answer. Adrien came up to where his friend was standing and gave a more coherent response.

"Yes. I am going on a ski trip and require all of the winter sport attire," He told the attendant. The man's face lit up. He worked on commission, so this was going to make his week.

"Yes well, right this way sir. What is your size?" The attendant asked, shifting all his attention to Adrien. As Adrien told the man his measurements, the attendant pulled items from the racks. Marinette trailed after him, apparently not needed on this shopping venture at all.

The attendant was clearly pulling a specific color scheme for Adrien to try. Every jacket and pair of bibs he picked had the same black-lime-teal thing going on. He also made sure to pull a couple of black under armour for him to try it on with. When they made it to the fitting room, the salesman had probably ten items for Adrien to try. He got a number and put it on the door to the room where he had dumped the items while Marinette took a seat outside. The bell at the front of the store dinged.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," The attendant called behind him as he went to salk his new prey. Marinette just sat there, reading news on her phone while Adrien changed.

It had been a little over a year since any superheros had been seen in Paris, and even longer since Ladybug officially announced her retirement. The Parisian papers had nearly forgotten about the year people had been afraid to be afraid, with the ever looming threat of Hawkmoth and akumatization. Even the people had started to forget, Ladybug, Volpina, Golden Bee, and Chat Noir merchandise leaving stores and being replaced by the new fictional heros that the public so adored.

However Marinette didn't forget. Even though Tiki slept for days on end, and it had been 19 months since she had transformed, Marinette was still ladybug. She still wore the red earrings, which she had learned she could make slightly smaller, in the cartilage piercings she had gotten on her sixteenth birthday. If any supernatural horror were to appear, she would be ready, but since it hadn't she lived simply as a girl in her final year of grade school.

"Hey does this fit right?" Adrien said, stepping out of the changing room clad in only black under armour. He was twisting to get a feel for the garments when Marinette looked up, her face blushing slightly when she saw the material clinging to every toned muscle in his body.

"Uh, yeah it looks good. But you need to try it with all the outerwear to make sure it feels right," She said.

"Alright," He said, stepping back into the dressing room to pull on the bibs.

Just as Marinette had changed over the years, her hips were now fuller, her hair was grown out about 10 cm past her shoulders, and she had four piercings in each ear, Adrien had too. He had grown to be just as tall as his dad, his shoulders had broadened, and he had grown out his hair so much that he often wore it back in a small ponytail. They had both really come into there own, and as they were friends, they also sometimes dressed alike. They had both traded in their old layers for leather jackets, and they had also developed a taste for slim-fit button downs buttoned all the way up to the neck.

"Can you help me with these?" He asked, fiddling with the straps on his neon green bibs. She sighed sarcastically, tucking her phone into her pocket and getting up to help this grown man adjust his clothes. When she got up next to him and started adjusting the straps so that they lay flat on his shoulders and properly held themselves up, she realized how great his cologne smelled. Then she realized how totally rock hard his chest was. Then she noticed herself realizing these things and turned beat red.

Adrien, who had been trying to focus on anything other than how one of his best friends was delicately touching his chest. As one of the most sought after models in Paris, he was used to being manhandled by strangers, but it was different when it was someone he knew. It was almost _embarrassing?_ And when he looked down and saw Marinette bright red face, he was officially feeling a little awkward.

When the moment passed, Marinette told him to go put on the jacket to feel the full look and went back to her seat and her phone, her face starting to return to its normal shade. When Adrien confirmed that the pants, jacket, and underwear fit, he grabbed two more sets of the underwear and went to purchase it with his dad's credit card. When he turned to his friend to ask if she maybe wanted to get coffee, she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

"Plagg, why do girls act the way they do?" Adrien asked when he got back to his room, dropping his purchases unceremoniously next to the door. He kicked off his shoes and face planted onto his bed while his Kwami roused himself from his nap.

Adrien no longer brought Plagg with him when he left the house, there was no reason to. Since Hawkmoths defeat, there hasn't been a reason for Adrien to need to be on guard, ready to transform, 24/7. Plagg just slept in the little ornamental bird cage next to Adrien's bed and didn't wake up unless Adrien wanted to talk, which was only once a week or so.

"You used to ask me stuff like that all the time when you were obsessed with Ladybug," the cat sprite said, moving to look over at where his chosen was face down on the bed.

"Yeah, I know, but it has become relevant again," Adrien added. Plagg sighed.

"You know kid, there was a reason I never answered you before, and it wasn't just because you getting romantically involved with Ladybug was a bad idea," Plagg told him, rubbing his still-asleep face with his tiny paws.

"And why was that?" Adrien asked, rolling over.

"Because I don't know anything about girls who you are interested in. I may have had female chosen in the past, but none of them were, uh your type of girl,"

"How do you mean?"

"Uh, none of them were interested in relationships with men?" Plagg elaborated, ending his phase on a high note as if it were a question. Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"So literally all of your chosen have been interested in girls?" Adrien dug.

"Oh no, no. One of them was interested in the church, celibacy and all," Plagg corrected. Adrien nodded slowly.

"Ok, so what were those girls like, the ones interested in girls?" Adrien asked tentatively.

"They generally didn't have many friends, but that was probably more of a time period thing, but when they did they were mostly men. They all were sort of awkward when it came to intimacy. They were really focused on their 'life's work', whatever it happened to be," Plagg listed. Adrien went through these things mentally in his head, applying them all as a sort of test to Marinette.

"Plagg, you know my friend Marinette?"

"Yeah, what about- you don't think?"

"I mean, she has lots of friends, but she is really really focused on becoming a fashion designer. There was also this awkward moment when she had to help me with a clasp while we were shopping," Adrien told the sprite. Plagg nodded solemnly.

"Could be, but I wouldn't do anything with this pseudo revelation until you are sure," Plagg warned his chosen.

"Yeah, of course,"

-x-x-x-x-

Half way through the seven hour bus ride to the resort, Adrien woke up from his nap. Marinette was behind him, sitting with Alya, and drawing in her sketchbook. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should apologise for what happened two days.

"Hey Marinette?" He said, twisting in his seat and leaning into the aisle to look at her.

"Hmm?" She replied without looking up.

"I just wanted to say sorry, for the other day. It looked like I had somehow made you uncomfortable, and, just, sorry," he said, not really knowing how to apologise when he didn't know exactly what he had done. She looked up and gave him a shy smile.

"It's fine, it's not your fault. I'm just not really used to working with male models," She said before turning back to her design work. He leaned back into his seat with a nod, slightly more of the opinion that his good friend might be same-sex oriented.

x-x-x-x-x

Three hours later, they all arrived at their ski lodge. It was very picturesque, the early january light bouncing off the snow, the log cabin style of the hotel/ski lodge, the winding cut of the slopes up the mountain. Adrien, who had only ever flown over the alps en route to Italy for fashion business, was in awe.

"Its pretty great isn't it?" Marinette said, stepping off the bus behind him. They went under the bus to grab their overstuffed luggage bags and carried them into the lobby, quick to get out of the beautiful cold. Everyone stood around stretching, chatting, and figuring out the best ways to carry all their stuff at once while Madame Reilley, their home room teacher checked them in.

Adrien just marveled at how cosy the huge lodge was. Even with its soaring ceilings and thick posts, the yellow-toned lights and giant fireplaces made it feel warm. When Madame Beilley turned back to them and passed out the keys, Adrien was surprised to find that he had a single.

"It's your lucky day, Winston was sick and decided not to come, so you have your own room for the trip," She told him. Winston had transferred into their class around four months ago, moving to Paris from Montreal. He was nice, and he and Adrien got along, but his French was weird.

"Alya, I am so excited to room together. We literally haven't had a sleepover in months!" Marinette exclaimed, hauling her stuff over towards the elevator.

"I know right, the last time was in like september when we had to pull an all nighter for that literature report," Alya confirmed.

As the girls walked over to the elevators, Adrien looked very closely at how Marinette seemed to lean towards her friend as she excitedly talked about all the things they would do on the trip. He didn't really want to see it, but every time he thought about it, how she had initially acted really awkward around him when they first met, how she always seemed more excited to hang out with Alya than him, how she liked to design clothes for women. It all pointed to one thing. Marinette was a lesbian.


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien turned off the alarm on his phone begrudgingly and rolled over with a groan. He pulled himself together, gelling his hair, pulling on all the ski gear he had bought with Mari before the trip, and stepping out into the the hall. He waddled in his very warm ski gear to the elevators, went down to the ground floor where he ran into none other than Marinette.

"Adrien! Are you excited to go out to the slopes!" Mari said, smiling at him as he waddled from the elevators to the slopeside exit she was standing by. Alya was not around, which didn't really surprise him. It was weird, even though Marinette was more likely to be late, when I came to just getting ready, like after gym class, Marinette could win an award for how fast she could do it. Behind him, the other elevator dinged. He twisted looked over his shoulder to see Alya, who was dressed much lighter than he and Mari walking over to them.

"Is that all you are wearing? It's like -5 degrees out there!" Marinette exclaimed when her friend was close enough. Alya shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't really get cold anymore," She said. Adrien looked closer at her outfit, which consisted of a hat, goggles, an insulated top, vest, and ski pants. In comparison to his and Marinette's parkas, ski pants, and huge gloves, she looked dressed for spring.

"Anyway, let's take a picture for Nino before we go out and start looking gross," Alya said, pulling out her phone and passing it to Adrien, who had the longest arms. They took a few, deciding to send a goofy one to Nino and a smiling one to their parents. For Adrien, that meant sending it to Natalie to be added to his father's digital photo frame of Adrien kept on his desk at home. After posting one of them, and some of their other friends who had arrived during their selfie session vogue-ing on Instagram, Alya determined that it was high time they hit the slopes.

They all exited together, going to the gear rental to get skis and boots before heading directly for the bunny slopes.

Throughout the day, as they mastered the bunny slopes and moved up to the second tier of difficulty, Adrien kept a close eye on Marinette. She was one of the better skiers, despite having only been three times before. Since she wasn't as cocky as Alex and Kim, who were unsurprisingly excellent, and quickly abandoned the group, she helped Adrien, Alya, and Max, all of who who had never skied before.

She wasn't acting particularly gay, Adrien didn't think. She was just teaching the very basics of skiing to her friends, all of whom started to get it once they realized it was pretty much just like ice skating. Even watching her all day, when he wasn' trying to figure out how to ski, his opinion didn't change. By the time they returned their skis and went back into the lodge, he was still probably about 80% sure Marinette was gay, regardless of her doing nothing gay all day.

After they all got dinner at the buffet and retired to a secluded set of couches in front of the fireplace on their floor. They were mostly just sitting together, send snapchats their few friends who didn't come on the trip and playing on their phones when Kim spoke up.

"I'm bored, let's do something!" The large guy groaned, throwing his head back. Alix rolled her eyes.

"Ok dip shit, what do you want to do?" She asked her best friend. Kim looked back at the group with a devilish grin.

"How about truth or dare?" He suggested. Everyone rolled their eyes, but agreed to play. They cleared the coffee tables from their gathering place and sat on the floor in a circle, Kim dropping his now empty energy drink bottle in the middle for a spinner.

"Rules are simple, spinner spins the bottle, whoever the top points to has to choose, truth or dare. If they successfully complete their task, they become the next spinner, got it?" Everyone nodded, and Alix leaned in to spin.

"What are you doing? I get to spin first!" Kim protested, but Alix had already flicked her wrist and he bottle was in motion. As the bottle slowed down it pointed to...

"Sabrina! Truth or Dare?" Alix asked leaning towards the redhead who seemed to be having a good time, even though Chloe decided not to attend this trip.

"Uhhh... Truth?" She tried. Alix sighed, obviously having had a good dare in mind before her face lit up.

"Who do you have a crush on?" She asked. Sabrina froze, turning white.

"Ok you guys can't tell them. Whatever is said here stays here!" She said, looking every one of her classmates in the eyes. They all nodded, except for Kim, who rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we won't tell anyone. Just say it," He exclaimed. Sabrina took a deep breath.

"It's Chloe," she relinquished. Everyone nodded and mumbled stuff about how that was kind of expected. Sabrina looked around at how unsurprised everyone was and started to go from white to pink. "You all knew?"

"It's not that we knew knew, but we all suspected just a little bit," Marinette said, placing her hand on Sabrina's knee and giving the embarrassed girl a smile. Sabrina reached out and spun the bottle.

"Adrien, truth or dare?" Sabrina asked the blonde sitting across the circle from her. He opened his mouth, then closed to to reconsider.

"Dare," He eventually decided.

"I dare you to go get everyone mulled wine from the bar downstairs," Sabrina said instantly, as if she had been waiting to abuse Adrien's money since the moment they sat down.

"Isn't that, illegal?" Adrien asked her. Max shook his head.

"Not in Germany it isn't. None for me though, I'm too much of a lightweight," The thin boy informed him. With a shrug, Adrien got up.

"Fine. Anyone else don't want any or want something else?" He asked. After Kim said he wuld rather have a beer, and Rose wanted iced white wine, he headed for the elevator. He rode down to the second floor, which was the general lounge and walked up to the bar.

"Can I have 8 mugs of mulled wine, a glass of chilled white, and a beer?" He asked, pulling out his wallet.

"Can I see some ID kid?" The bartender asked. Adrien showed his French ID, which the bartender accepted, then passed the man his credit card. After the drinks were poured and stacked onto two large trays the bartender gave him another look over.

"You sure you can carry those kid?" He asked Adrien. The blonde nodded and picked up the two trays, balancing them with ease.

"Don't worry, I have catlike reflexes," He said, carrying the drinks towards the elevator, before he got in he called back to the bartender, "Leave my tab open, Room 413,"

Adrien got out of the elevator and was immediately swept up by everyone grabbing their drinks from him. When he sat back down, mug in one hand, he spun the bottle.

"Marinette, truth or dare," He asked her. This was just the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"Dare" she said confidently, daring him to dare her. He raised his eyebrows.

"I dare you to kiss Alix, if that's alright with her?" He said, looking over at the pink haired member of their group. Alix smirked.

"I'm down if she is," Alix said with a wink in Marinette's direction. Marinette sighed, leaning over Sabrina to get to Alix and giving her a quick peck on the lips. Just then a door down the hall opened and closed and footsteps walked towards them they all looked over to see a very tired looking Madame Reilley.

"What are you all doing up at this hour? And drinking? At a school function? If it was illegal I would have all of your heads. Get to bed, all of you!" She snapped. Stalking back to her room. And just like that, the night was over.


	4. Chapter 4

Adrien couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned for over an hour after their chaperone had sent them all to sleep. When he looked over at the clock to see it was nearly one, he decided to give up on the futility of sleeping. He got out of bed and looked over to where his Kwami was sleeping nestled in a fluffy scarf, where he had been since waking up to eat the cheese Adrien had brought him back from dinner the night before, before donning his swim trunks and leaving his room to get some fresh air at the outdoor hot tub.

As he walked down the stairs towards the poll area, he thought sadly about how much Plagg had been sleeping lately. He hadn't transformed into Chat in months, and he could count the number of conversations he and his friend had had in that time on his fingers. He felt like Plagg was growing more distant, and he really didn't want to lose the only one who knew about the double life he had lived for so long. He also feared that if Plagg left him, then Ladybug's Kiwami would leave her too, making it impossible for him to find her ever again.

When he got to the pool area, he headed for the doors to the patio, where the hot tub was located, surrounded by snow except for the foot directly around the edge. When he opened the doors, he realised the tub was not as empty as he had thought it would be.

Marinette was sitting there, quietly, just watching the snow falling lightly above her head, evaporating in the steam. Adrien cleared his throat as he approached as not to spook her. She turned around, face rosy from the heat and smiled awkwardly at him.

"Oh hey Adrien. Beautiful night isn't it?" She asked, going back to watching the winter weather. He stepped into the tub across from her and looked up at the cloudy night.

"Yeah. I didn't even know there were places this quiet," He replied, keeping his eyes trained at the surroundings to keep from staring at Mari, who he had never noticed was all lean muscle before right then.

"Yeah, it's so different from the Paris nights," She mused. Adrien thought about all the nights he spent on the rooftops of Paris, searching for Hawkmoth with Ladybug. The feeling of the hot tub was very similar to how he felt when raced above the city, his body warm but his face chilled by the winter winds.

They sat there, just admiring the night for a few minutes before Adrien started to feel the itch he got when nobody spoke for a while. He decided that now, when they were alone, was a good time to ask her what had been on his mind.

"Hey Mari, can I ask you something personal?" He asked, finally daring to look at her, realising she had been staring at him at a longer time than he thought.

"Sure, my life is an open book," She said, almost being choked by the half lie. She did try to be honest in everything except her secret identity, it made keeping the big secrets easier. Adrien let out a long breath.

"Are you a lesbian?" He asked outright. Marinette tried to hold back a laugh, but when she met Adrien's very serious eyes, she had to let it out. Adrien went from serious to confused as she calmed down.

"Oh my god. No, I'm not, maybe bisexual, but I am at least partially attracted to dudes," She told him.

"Oh ok, sorry for assuming. It was just a dumb idea someone put into my head," He admitted, scratching his neck in embarrassment. They were quiet for a moment before Marinette's face turned to an expression of realization.

"Did you have me kiss Alix as a test!" She exclaimed, pushing water towards him.

"I might have, but you did do it, which only confirmed my theory!" He said, pushing water back.

"Just because I'm willing to kiss Alix doesn't mean I'm gay, it just means I take truth or dare very seriously!" She said, pushing water harder this time. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry! Can we stop the splashing, I don't want to have to wash my hair," He requested. Marinette folded her arms in victory before standing up and stretching, giving Adrien a perfect view of her bikini clad muscular frame. For some reason, even though she was phenomenal in gym and on the slopes, he never expected her to be so buff.

"I'm turning into a raisin. I'm glad we talked about this, see you tomorrow," She said, stepping out of the hot tub and grabbing a towel from the shelf by the door as she walked in. Adrien stayed outside for another five minutes before heading back inside himself.

When he got back to his room he rinsed of, got back in his pajamas, and went into a deep sleep. He dreamed about being Chat Noir, chasing after Ladybug, and never quite being able to catch her. As she swung through the Eiffel tower she disappeared and his dream changed. He was skiing with Marinette, only she was wearing her swimsuit and her skis were red with black dots, just like the items Ladybug used to summon with her luck charm.

When he awoke he had the slight sense that he was missing something.


	5. Chapter 5

Adrien got ready at a turtle like pace, feeling no need to rush on what was the first thing he could honestly call a vacation in years. Every other time he had left Paris it had been for work. His dad apparently didn't see a need for family getaways once a third of the family was missing.

Once he was in his under armour and bibs, he tucked his helmet with goggles and his parka under his arm and left his room. He clomped down the hallway in his giant snow boots, meeting his classmates by the elevator. He walked over to where Nino was leaning against a wall, one arm around Alya's shoulders. She whispered something as he walked over and his best friend laughed.

"How was your night man? Sleep OK?" Nino asked, doing their quick handshake. Adrien shrugged non-committedly.

"I couldn't sleep so I went down to the hot tub and cleared my head. After that I slept pretty good," he told them.

"Cleared your head? Is that what you call asking after the sexual attraction of my bestie?" Alya asked, quirking one eyebrow with an inquisitiveness most professional models could never even hope to mimic.

"Better to ask than assume," came a voice from the hall. Adrien looked over his shoulder to see Marinette in her red and white ski gear, with Madame Reilley shortly behind. The class went down to the slopes together, splitting off to go to lessons after picking up their rental skis.

Adrien was in the class for complete beginners, with Nino, Max, and Juleka as his classmates. They stood around in the waiting area for maybe five minutes before their instructor skied down to them.

"Hi class, I'm Rick. I'm from Colorado, but so far I am loving skiing in the Alps. You guys ready to get started?" He asked enthusiastically. Even though the slopes just opened for public use, Adrien wouldn't be surprised if this guy had been skiing since sun-up.

The group followed Rick, not to the lift, but to what looked like conveyer belt running about 80 feet up the low slope they had met at the bottom of. RIck showed them to just shuffle their way up to the belt and it would catch the top of their skis and pull them up. At the top he began showing them the basics of skiing, parallel skis to speed up and triangle skis to slow down, but don't let the tips cross. He then sent them down the very low slope to test their skills at just slowing and speeding up.

After this exercise he showed them how to shift their weight to change direction and explained hockey stops. At everything Rick showed the class, Adrien was a natural. After an hour of teaching, when they took a quick water break, Rick approach Adrien one-on-one.

"Kid, do you want to move up a level? You are way too good for this lesson, and my girl Stella's group is breaking over there," Rick explained, gesturing to the group Alya and Rose were in over by the first lift.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks for the basics Rick," Adrien said, sliding towards the other group. When he got there he explained the situation to Stella and went to go stand with Alya and Rose.

"Look at you big shot, moving up in the world," Alya joked when he made it over to her. He rolled his eyes.

"Turns out my natural grace, balance, and athleticism give me a free pass to stage two," Adrien joked. Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. When they went to get on the two person lift, Rose elected to go up next to the instructor, and Adrien sat with Alya.

"How are you doing in economics? You have Monsieur Beard too right?" Adrien asked her, finding common ground that wasn't picking on each other.

"Yeah, he is a tough grader, but you can tell he knows his shit inside and out. Did you do the reading and responses he asked for?" she replied.

"I did the reading on the way over, but I was planning on doing the responses on the bus ride back," They kept going on talking about school and the trip for the rest of their time on the lift. When they were going up the third time, Adrien felt like it might be time to move to more serious topics.

"So, how are things with Nino?" he asked. She smiled and shrugged.

"He made me a playlist for the ride over and back, and promised to buy me hot cocoa at least on this trip," she stated, as if a summary of events between them the last few days is what he was looking for.

"So you guys are doing good? You guys are happy together?" he nuanced.

"We're happy, a little stagnant, but that's what happens to relationships sometimes. It's still nice though," she explained. He nodded.

"You guys are so great together, you know. Everyone in school wishes to be the power couple that you two are," he expressed, looking out over the mountain where he could see Alix, Kim, and Marionettes distinctive Purple, Red, and White outfits flowing in a tight line down a steeper slope.

"I mean, I guess we are the only big couple, since Alix and Kim broke up over the summer. I can think of some other people that would make good couples in our class though," she mused. He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Like who? Juleka and Rose?" he wondered. She shrugged.

"I guess. You would be in a power couple if you found the right girl, I'm sure of it," she said as they approached the end of the lift. Before he could ask who she meant by "right girl", she disembarked the lift and skied away. When he caught up to her she was at the bottom of the mountain talking to rose about their history class.


	6. Chapter 6

After lunch they had been able to free ski, and Adrien had taken the time to work his way up to some bigger slopes. No blacks, but a few reds, and little bit on the ski park. It was amazing. He had the same feeling of freedom and lightheartedness that he had when he was Chat, but he didn't need to suit. The only thing missing was Ladybug.

God how he missed her. How much he missed her was proof to him that it his affection hadn't just be admiration or a crush, but genuine love. Without getting to see her he felt hollow. It had been the worst the first few weeks after the arrest of Hawkmoth, when he went out as Chat to look for her. Every night of not finding her had made him ache a little more, and eventually Plagg convinced him he was only making it worse by searching, and he stopped cold turkey.

He still thought about her wistfully, hoping to one day find her and tell her how much she means to him, but the pain was only a memory. It was just the emptiness now, and Adrien could feel the wind blowing through the cavern in his chest as he sped down the slopes.

Around four he decided to call it quits. He returned his skis and went back to the floor with his class's rooms. Nino, Alya, and Marinette were all hanging out in the lounge area, talking about something that was news to him.

"Wait, you are opening an online boutique?" Adrien asked Marinette. She nodded, sipping her hot cocoa.

"I already have muslins of the first line of products all pinned back home. When I get back I'll start sew the samples and take photos. The site will probably launch in a month or so," she told him. He was constantly in awe of Marinette's design ability and drive to succeed. He wished he had the same level of passion she did.

"Juleka, Rose and I are modeling for her. SHe wants to have three different body types model every look so that people can feel confident that what they are buying will look good on them," Alya added.

"That's really progressive Mari. There are so few designers who are willing to design for someone who isn't a super model. And it is great to get your friends involved, they can put the experience on their resumes," Adrien commented. Nino smiled.

"I'm dating a model, can you imagine?" He joked, Alya punching him lightly. They changed topics to talking about what everyone is doing their history projects on and other school work, sitting in the lounge until dinner.

After dinner in the buffet restaurant, the four friends went up to Adrien's single room to just hang out. They ordered mulled wine from room service while they talked about their day skiing. Adrien told them how much fun he had, leaving out the parts about how it made him feel like Chat again. They were maybe four or five mugs of wine in before Alya and Nino conveniently left five minutes apart, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone for the second night in a row.

"I need some air," Marinette announce, getting off the unoccupied bed, slipping into her slippers and stepping out onto the balcony. While Adrien was not sober, he remembered that drunk people don't feel as cold, and pulled on his own slippers and a sweater, grabbing a blanket to take out to Marinette. He stepped out onto the balcony, where Mari had brushed some snow off the railing to lean on her elbows. She looked so pretty in her pink and grey sweater, her raven hair cascading just past her shoulders in soft waves. The effect was enhanced by her cheeks and nose, both which were flush with cold and alcohol. He wrapped the blanket over her shoulders as he stepped closer to her. She grabbed the edges with one hand without looking away from the scenery in front of her.

Adrien's arm had landed across Mari's shoulders in depositing the blanket, but it didn't even occur to him to move it. They stood like that for a little while, Marinette looking out over the ski resort, Adrien looking at Marinette.

Eventually Marinette turned to look at Adrien ad she realized, dully, that his arm was over her shoulders, and that he was looking down at her with a blissful expression. She also realised that, even with the blanket, she was still cold, and Adrien was radiating heat. She shifted closer to him, turning towards him in the process.

 _This is so nice_ , she thought. She was outside of her hectic hometown, had spent the day doing something she enjoyed but hardly ever got to do, and she had spent the night surrounded by good company and drinking delicious wine.

Adrien was feeling unusually happy. He had a great day skiing, a good evening with his friends, and now he was standing outside on a beautiful night with a beautiful girl. Who was now looking at him, and moving closer to him. He wondered if he should stop staring, but at this point he was already caught so what was the point. He kept looking down, now into her hypnotic blue eyes.

He was leaning closer to her as she was leaning closer to him, their faces mere inches apart before Marinette realised something.

This was Adrien Agrest, the model she had been crushing on for upwards of two years. She could feel his warm, alcohol laced, breath on her cheek and was looking right into his glittering green eyes. She froze before pulling a little farther away from him. If she kiss or god knows did something more with him while they were drunk it would ruin the friendship she had spent years building.

Before Adrien could process what was happening, she was opening the sliding door and closing it behind her. He watched, dazed and confused, as the beautiful girl he had thought he was maybe having a moment with threw the blanket back on the spare bed and went left his room, leaving him alone in the cold.

 **I hope y'all are liking this little story, but I won't know unless you comment, follow, and favorite!**


	7. Chapter 7

After lunch on the third and final day, Kim was being his typical competitive self.

"Guys, just one little black run. We can do the shortest one, without the modules," he promised. He, Alix, and Mari had been working there way across the blacks of the mountain all morning, but were missing their other friends and wanted to pull them up to there level.

"I'm game," Adrien said. After spending the whole morning on red runs with Alya, he was feeling pretty confident in his abilities, even if he had only been skiing for two and a half days. He had gotten longer skis today, feeling like he was willing to swap a little bit of control for a little bit of speed.

"Yeah, I'll go too, but don't expect me to do anything except cut slowly across the run," Alya told the three advanced skiers. Marinette smiled at her friend, as if Alya's agreement was a welcome surprise. The other members of their class elected to stick to their easier runs.

The skied up to the lift that would take them half way up the mountain. Adrien got on one lift with Kim, Alix, and a middle-aged snowboarder, while Mari and Alya were with an older couple on the chair behind them. Adrien listened while Kim and Alix debated the pros and cons of skiing, ice skating, and rollerblading. They used similar principles, but there was apparently a lot of nuance involved in the discussion of which one was most athletic or most competitive or most fun. Or at least there was when Kim and Alix talked about the activities. When they got off the lift they waited for Mari and Alya before skiing over to the head of "Course de Serpant."

"So this run isn't super steep, but it is narrow, and the shade of the trees can cause patches of ice,"

"Uhhhh, I'm starting to rethink this," Alya worried. Marinette patted her on the back.

"If you just carve across like you had planned, you'll be fine," Mari assured her friend. Kim nodded in confirmation before starting down the slope at a slight angle, cutting a quick direction. change when he was only a few feet from the tree line.

Adrien went down next, trying to follow the same path as Kim, but turning a little earlier, since he was aware his longer skis wouldn't turn well. He then changed his strategy to just going near straight down the center of the run, shifting his weight to turn as the trail did. This was working perfectly until he realized he had gotten significantly far ahead of his friends. He attempted a hockey stop, but hit a patch of ice and kept going across the trail at full speed.

A minute later Marinette made it to where Adrien was laying sprawled in the snow, skis detached from his boots.

"Adrien!" she yelled in shock as the rest of the group came around the bend and saw Adrien's peril. Marinette came to a full stop, removed her skis and went over to look at him. While Mari worked on getting off his helmet, Alya whipped off a glove to call Mountain rescue. Once she could see his face, she confirmed what she had assumed, that he was unconscious. She inspected the rest of him and saw that his calf was at a weird angle to his knee.

Oh gosh this was bad.

x-x-x-x-x

Marinette blamed herself. She never should have convinced Adrien to do a black, especially not one with so many obstacles. It was irresponsible and now he was in the infirmary.

She kept repeating these thoughts while she sat next to the cot where the mountain rescue had put him after they ski-gurnied him down the mountain. The medics had said any hit to the head that knocks you out will leave a nasty concussion. The medic also relocated his knee, which had caused him to flinch, but not regain consciousness. While she sat by his side, Madame Reilly called Adrien's dad. A female voice picked up.

"This is Adrien's teacher, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Adrien injured himself while skiing," she started. The voice on the other end made a reply and Mme went into a detailed account of what had happened. The voice on the other end said something before hanging up. Her teacher turned towards Marinette.

"Marinette, you can go back to skiing. I'll wait with Adrien," she told her student. Mari shook her head.

"I'm going to stay, I don't feel much like skiing anymore and I think it would be good for him to have a friend here when he wakes up," she explained. It was a half-truth. She did want to stop skiing for the day, but she stayed more because her guilty conscience wouldn't let her leave. After a minute or two, the medic hovering around, monitoring Adrien, the boys eyelashes fluttered and his eyes opened.

 **I'm loving the responses you guys have been sending, sorry if I don't respond, but I am too busy writing! Keep up the feedback, the favorites, and the follows!**


	8. Chapter 8

As Adrien came to, the first thing he noticed was the person hovering over him. She had something red on her head and her torso was covered in something red and skin tight.

"Ladybug?" He asks as a light is shined in his eyes. Their is a man trying to get him to follow his finger, but he looked away towards the woman that had been the first thing he had seen when he woke up.

Upon second look, it wasn't his lady, but his friend Marinette. She did look an awful lot like Ladybug though, with her red under armour, red ski goggles, and black twin braids. After this disappointing revelation, Adrien complied with the man with the flashlight, who turned out to be a medic. He wiggled into a sitting position,

He was able to follow the man's finger just fine, but it took him longer than he would have liked to recall his address, which he had lived at his whole life. When he was finished, the medic told him he had a very mild concussion and had dislocated his knee. They had put it back while he was unconscious, thank god, and it was iced so he wasn't in a ton of pain right then, but he was promised it would hurt like a bitch if he tried to put any weight on it. When the medic went to write up his paperwork and Mme Reilly went to make a phone call, Adrien looked to Marinette.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her. She should be out having fun, not sitting with him.

"Oh, uh, I thought you could use a friend. Madame Reilly is fine, but she isn't necessarily what you want to see right when you wake up," Mari told him with a smile. Adrien reached out and put his hand on hers.

"Thanks Marinette, that's really nice of you," he told her earnestly. She blushed a little bit, removing her hand from under his and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, I also felt a little guilty, since I convinced you to go on the black run and you got hurt because of it," she admitted. His face fell a bit.

"I would have done it even if you hadn't asked. It was just good you guys were behind me, otherwise I might have been stranded," Adrien assured her. She was going to argue when their teacher and the medic came back over to where Adrien was sitting.

"Adrien, I talked to your father's secretary, so he knows your status. She said it would be best for you to spend the rest of the day in bed, off your knee, and go back to the city with the rest of the class tomorrow," Mme Reilly told him. He nodded, a little relieved that his father didn't want him home immediately after this incident. He signed the paperwork that the medic passed him and looked back at Marinette.

"Thanks for sitting with me, but I don't want you to miss a whole day of skiing for my sake. Go back out," he told her. She pursed her lips but nodded in agreement, leaving the room.

x-x-x-x-x

"Tiki he called me Ladybug," she said to the Kiwami tucked in her coat. She had woken her up, since Adrien finding out her secret identity, regardless of how long it had been since she had donned the suit, was a big deal.

"You were wearing a skin tight red top and red goggles, and everyone has been searching for ladybug for years. He also has a concussion. He doesn't think you are actually Ladybug," Tiki assured her. It had been a while since Marinette had freaked about her identity being leaked, and Tiki really didn't care for it anymore. "I can't believe you woke me up for this," she grumbled.

The formerly bubbly and supportive sprite had been getting more and more surrly in the past few months. Marinette had asked her about it, but Tiki had just said it was a Kiwami thing and she wouldn't understand, let alone be able to help. Now Marinette avoided waking her up for anything other than fresh baked cookies or an emergency. She had thought Adrien possibly knowing her identity counted, but apparently not.

Marinette looked out over the mountain as her Kiwami, unconcerned but annoyed went back to sleep against her chest, noticing the sun moving towards the horizon. She decided this would be her last run before she had to end this eventful vacation.

x-x-x-x-x

"I can't believe I called her Ladybug. Just because she was wearing red doesn't mean she looked like my lady! Next thing I know Alya will pull on a red sweater and I will think she is Ladybug! I'm going crazy not knowing who she is behind the mask, and even crazier with knowing I may never know!" Adrien said, flailing his arms in lieu of pacing as he talked with Plagg. He had woken the Kiwami, who was increasingly grumpy, with some stinky cheese, then roped him into his ramblings.

"Kid, you are concussed. That is why you thought Marinette was Ladybug. You need to stop jumping to wild conclusions about stuff you might not be ready to know," The cat said, yawning and settling in the blue cashmere scarf Adrien had gotten from his father for his birthday a few years ago.

"What do you mean stuff I'm not ready to know? Ladybugs civilian identity has been all I have wanted to know for years!" He exclaimed, still gesturing wildly. The kiwami shrugged.

"You might not like the truth when you get it is all I am saying. What if Marinette is Ladybug, what then?" Plagg mused sleepily, stifling another yawn.

"I would be ecstatic! Marinette is cute, funny, and courageous. Everything Ladybug is and more!" He shouted. Then a lightbulb went off. A final puzzle piece clicked into place. "Oh gosh, Marinette is totally Ladybug. They are both courageous, athletic, have black hair, blue eyes, and Marinette used to always wear pigtails. I was Clark Kent-ed," Adrien stated dumbly.

"Mmmmm," was Plagg's only response before he drifted off to sleep, Adrien so wrapped up in this revelation that he didn't even notice.

"I need to think," Adrien stated finally. He wiggled his way out of bed and used the crutches he had been given to hobble around the room, getting into his swim trunks and then pulling back on his pajama bottoms and t-shirt.

He made his way slowly to the elevator, to the pool recreation area, and out to the hot tub, where the woman who was occupying all of his thoughts sat, head tilted up at the stars. When she heard him clutching his way towards her she looked over, not saying anything despite her own inner turmoil.

"Another beautiful night," he said as he lowered himself into the water.

"Yeah. How are you doing?" she asked him, giving him a sidelong look.

"My head aches a bit and if I put any weight on my right leg I will practically die from pain, but as long as I avoid that I'm fine. How about you, did you get any good runs in after we parted ways?" he asked back, trying to keep the conversation casual. Or well as casual as he could before he asked a bombshell of a question.

"Yeah I guess, it wasn't the same after I knew you were injured and missing out on the fun though," she replied, looking over at the slopes glittering on the mountain.

"That's too bad," he stated, hoping she would give him some sort of opening to ask about her possible double life, but instead she let the conversation fade. After a few minutes of her looking at the sky and he looking at her, just like last night, she turned and looked at him, this time fully aware of his stare.

"What's on your mind?" she inquired. He shook his head.

"You said your life is an open book right?" he asked, just make sure asking wasn't overstepping some invisible line.

"Mmmmhmmmmm,"

"Are you- Were you Ladybug?" he asked tentatively. If she was, asking this might send her on high alert, just like it would him if anyone asked if he was Chat Noir. She gave a small laugh.

"God I wish. She was Paris's hero. Made saving everyone look so easy, graceful even," Marinette said looking back at the sky.

Adrien was crestfallen. He was so sure it was her. He was also sure Ladybug wouldn't lie to him about who she was if asked directly.

"Oh ok, it was just some random idea that my concussed brain whipped up," he defended, she waved her hand to show that it didn't even matter.

Eventually she decides she wants to go to the sauna, offering to help Adrien out before she goes. He accepts, picks up his clothes, and they go their separate ways.

 **This chapter is extra special long (at least for me) because it was originally 2 short chapters! I forget to write if I don't get emails about reviews from FF, so keep em coming!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Welcome back Adrien, your father would-" Nathalie said as he came through the front door of the Agrest mansion on one crutch.

"See me in his office? Of course, I'll head there straight away," he said. She nodded and stepped aside so he could make his way to the east wing, his father's business quarters. He made his way down the hall leisurely, caring more about not hurting his leg, in which the pain was a very slight throb, than he was caring about keeping his father waiting. He knocked on the imposing door and pushed it open when he heard some sort of reply from the other side.

"Nathalie said you wanted to see me?" He said, making his way to the chair in front of the desk. His father didn't look up until he was seated comfortably.

"Yes, as you know fashion week is approaching rapidly and you were scheduled to walk in the Agrest Men's Couture show in two weeks. With you foolishly injuring yourself, you have been replaced as lead model and I am taking you out of the show entirely," His father said, making assertive eye contact. Adrien gave a short nod of understanding. He had known this would be the case, and didn't really need to be told in sure a formal manner.

"That being said," his father continued unexpectedly, "since my show is so late in the week this year, I will not be able to attend competitor shows. You will be attending in my stead, representing the Agrest Brand," Adrien's eyes widened.

His father had only ever offhandedly mentioned Adrien's role in the family business, and only when it came to his baccalaureate studies. Adrien knew that he would eventually get controlling interest in the company when his father left, but that seemed far in the distance and he hadn't expect to become involved so soon. When he didn't say anything his father continued.

"Nathalie and I have two seats at every show, so you should bring someone along with you, preferably someone with a better artistic eye than you preferably. I want you to mostly note crowd reactions and what people are saying at the after parties, do you understand?" he went on, making sure his silent son was following him.

"Of course. Would the designer from my class, Marinette, be an acceptable choice? She knows design and would be charming at parties," Adrien suggested, slightly surprising himself that he was ready to suggest taking Mari as his plus-one to his father right off the bat.

"Yes, she will do. Nathalie will get you your fashion week schedule and have seven tuxes put into your closet, one for each night. Since your friend is not an official representative, she can wear whatever she likes, in good taste of course. If she wants to wear an Agrest you can have Nathalie pull anything from the Fall collection for her. You are dismissed,"

Adrien nodded, pulling himself up and leaving the room with a slight smile on his face. He normally dreaded fashion week, but attending shows and parties with Marinette makes him think he will like this year a whole lot more.

x-x-x-x-x

"What about adding a "Possible Pairings" section after the descriptions?" Alya suggested to Marinette as they were scrutinizing her online store. She wanted to go live with it in a month, just after the end of fashion week, and while most of the items were already loaded and described, she felt like she needed to add a few more finishing touches.

"Ohhh yeah! That would be great, especially if we line them up with the different shape models we have. Like an hourglass might want to pair the Macaroon Blouse with the Eiffel Tower skirt, while someone who is petite might want to pair it with the Hepburn Cigarette Pant," Marinette said, making a note in the document where she wrote down key business ideas. She looked at the note right above it and sighed.

"What?" her best friend wondered.

"I know the sketch-to-couture idea is a good way to start my brand but what is the point if nobody wants a gown designed by me?" Marinette said dejectedly, looking clicking to edit a currently blank page of hr website.

It was supposed to be a place where anyone who wanted something unique could look at all of her high-fashion sketches and order one in their measurements. She wanted to start designing cool stuff like what would be walking on the runways in a few weeks, but it just wasn't economical for someone like her who was just starting out. Alya had suggested she sell the sketches as a compromise.

"You will never know who loves your stuff until you put it out there. Someone famous could want to wear your clothes, you never know," Alya assured. They worked on coming up with pairings for the pieces that were already photographed and ready to launch for another half an hour before Marinette's phone dinged distinctively. Marinette tensed slightly before reaching for her phone, knowing who it was. When she looked at the new message she gaped.

"What did Adrien say? Is he madly in love with you and on his way over to confess? Is he marrying Chloe? Is he moving to Tibet to become a monk?" Alya asked expectantly. Marinette snorted and relaxed. Her friend always knew how to unstick her when she froze up.

"That would be so dramatic, no he invited me out to lunch tomorrow," Mari explained. Alya snatched the phone out of her hand.

"Hey Marinette, would you be interested in grabbing lunch with me?

I have some stuff I want to talk to you about. Let me know if you are free," she read out loud, wiggling her eyebrows to punctuate the messages. Mari took her phone back and typed out a quick reply, showing the phone to Alya before sending it.

 _Sounds great_

 _Does tomorrow work?_

When her friend nodded in approval she hit send. Alya wrapped her up in a bear hug.

"YOU HAVE A DATE WITH THE DUDE YOU HAVE BEEN CRUSHING ON FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS!" She squealed. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"We are getting lunch, not getting married. How come you didn't react like this when I told you I almost kissed Adrien the night we were drinking?" She asked her friend when she was released. Alya's face took on a look of complete surprise.

"YOU WHAT!" she continued loudly, "You didn't tell me!" Alya said with a quick punch to her friend's arm.

"I told you when I got back to our room afterwards," Mari said, now confused. Maybe she had dreamed that, "You responded with a muffled "great","

"I was asleep! Tell me all the details!" Alya said. Mari sighed and began to recount the details of the eventful night in the Alps.

 **Season 2 is off to a good start! In case anyone is wondering, the revelations of S2 will have no bearing on this fic. Keep sending feedback!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Oh god what if he was going to grill her about being ladybug? He had probably seen right past her excuse at the ski lodge._ Marinette thought during her painting class the next morning. Her nerves were getting to her and it was causing the bowl of apples she was supposed to be drawing to look much boxxier than she would like.

 _It doesn't even matter. If he asks you will tell him the truth. It doesn't matter because you aren't her anymore. Ladybug isn't you._ She reasoned, trying to calm down so she could fix the cubist look of her still life.

But what if he reveals you? That would cause a frenzy and she would lose all the normalcy she had managed to get into her life.

Adrien wouldn't do that. He is your friend, you have known him for years, he was able to keep that Nino was planning on asking Alya out a secret for weeks. He wouldn't betray you if you confided in him. She finally decided, putting the issue to bed and becoming laser focused on the fruit to keep her from going crazy.

x-x-x-x-x

Adrien looked up at the clock, mentally noting that there were eleven minutes and forty-two seconds before the bell rang for lunch. The gorilla would already be waiting outside with the car to take Marinette and him to La Belle Maison, where Adrien had made reservations for he and Marinette to talk. It wouldn't have been his first choice, as he knew Marinette was partial to the cream of mushroom soup at a deli near their school, but Nathalie had stressed that Marinette attending shows with him was a business discussion and should be done in a more professional setting. Apparently that meant they had to eat fancy salads at a restaurant in the business quarter.

Five minutes and sixteen seconds remaining. He was excited to spend some quality time with Mari. He felt that all the time they had spent alone together on the trip had made them closer in a way he couldn't really put into words. When he thought about joking around with her in the hottub and seeing her completely at peace on his balcony, even if she did run away, made him feel indescribably happy. It was new, and pleasant.

The bell rang and he was out of the room faster than a guy on a crutch should have been able to. He had packed up his bag way before class had ended so that he could meet Mari outside the studio where she had art class. When he arrived in the art department she was just stepping out of a room at the end of the hall. She was talking to Nathaniel and laughing when he tapped her on the shoulder. She started and turned to him, relaxing when she realised it was just him.

'"Adrien, you scared me. Ready for lunch?" She asked him as they started towards the front of the school.

"Born ready," he replied with a smile. When they reached the front door Mari pulled her peacoat and hat out of her backpack and donned them while Adrien buttoned up his coat. They stepped outside and walked to the waiting car. Like a gentleman, he opened the door for her and lett her climb in and slide down the seat before getting in.

"I assume since we are driving that you had somewhere in mind," she said, checking her cell-phone and shooting a quick text to Alya.

"Yes, we have reservations at La Belle Maison. Does that sound good?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I've never been, but it sounds nice," she said with a smile.

"Neither have I, but Nathalie recommended it for business lunches, so it is propably pretty good," he told her nodding. She raised her eyebrows.

"A business lunch? What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" she inquired. Obviously not what she thought it was going to be about, if Nathalie was involved.

"I'll tell you when we get there,"

They got to the restaurant and ordered before Adrien would answer any of Marinette's questions. She had started making wild accusations the second they stepped into La Belle Maison, everything from asking her to model to wanting to hire her to tran exotic animals in Tibet.

"Nothing so crazy, god," He said as Mari's soup and his salad were delivered. "Since I can't walk in the Agrest show this year, and my father is so busy with his collection, he has decided to send me as a brand representative to competitor shows," She nodded in understanding as she sipped her soup, so he continued. "However, he knows I don't really have much of a designers eye, so he requested I ask you to be my plus one," she almost choked on her soup.

"Seriously! He asked for me to attend fashion week shows as a brand representative?" she asked. Adrien took a few bites of his salad before answering.

"Well, he didn't suggest you, he just needed me to take someone who would actually understand what they were looking at. When I mentioned your name he said you would be an excellent choice," Adrien explained. His father knew of Marinette from design competitions, but he didn't think of her immediately when he though "designer".

"Well still, I'm honored. I would love to go, but what would I wear? I definitely don't have eight red-carpet ready gowns just sitting in my closet," She said, the gears turning in her mind. She might have enough designs, but not the resources, physical or temporal, to execute them in the next two weeks.

"Don't worry about that. My father said you can wear looks from the fall/winter Agrest collection. They have all the materials and the junior designers can get you a few gowns made by then," he assured her. Her eyes turned to saucers.

"A few gowns? I'm just going to get free couture? I could kiss you!" she exclaimed, quickly pressing her lips together as a blush rose up to her cheeks.

"Maybe later. So here are the details, which I'll text to you again later in case you are too busy thinking about clothes to listen," Adrien started jovially while Marinette kept absentmindedly eating and staring off into the distance thinking out what she would wear.

Over the eight show she would probably go 5/8 Agrest collection looks, and wear three of her own. It would only be right to kick off the week wearing something from the Agrest line, and she was in love with the deep grey tulle high-low dress from the last collection. She might go with the black mermaid with rose appliques for the second night, also and Agrest original. The third night she would definitely wear the navy rhinestoned vegan leather jumpsuit she had made for her winter design exam.

"That's pretty much it," Adrien finished, snapping Mari back to reality.

"Oh yeah sounds great," she replied, snapping back to attention. Adrien rolled his eyes good-naturedly and checked his watch.

"Let's head back, I'll email you all the details, including Nathalie's phone number. You can call her to set up an appointment at the design studio and get fitted for some looks," Adrien said, standing up and offering her a hand to stand up. She thanked him, they walked to the front, took their coats from the host, bundled up, and headed back to school.

 **Hey y'all thanks for sticking it out this far in this story!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Just stepping onto the red carpet is none other than supermodel and member of the fashion elite Adrien Agrest, and it appears he is not alone," A reporter said from the sideline as Adrien turned to the limo to help Marinette out. He could feel the cameras on them as she emerged, her gold boots stepping onto the red carpet as he helped her out of the limo.

She was wearing an Agrest original from the last collection, a gown that seemed to be woven out of three inch thick sapphire blue velvet ribbons trimmed, each trimmed with a thin stitch of gold. One ribbon sat off of each of her shoulders and the long bodice made Marinette, even with her shorter stature, look regal and glamorous. To match he was wearing a deep blue suit with a white shirt, gold tie, and gold pocket square. When she was fully out of the car she placed her hand on his proffered arm and they started slowly towards the doors of the hall where the event was being held.

She had been coached by Nathalie in the prior week on how to walk down a red carpet. She knew that everyone would be calling her name at once, and if she lost her head it would be a disaster. She was to smile and look in every direction in turn, then move six feet down the runway and do it again. If she was approached by a reporter, she was to say she is a family friend of the Agrests and is delighted to attend the shows with Adrien. She kept thinking about this crucial line as she moved down the runway, never leaving Adrien's side.

Adrien was raised in front of the camera and had no issues walking a red carpet. He was, however, surprised at how well Marinette was doing. She seemed so natural, smiling at every reporter, shifting slightly to give different angles, and overall just looking like a complete knockout. Eventually they got to a reporter who was on the carpet and ready to dig right into them.

"I'm Kathleen Guesta, E! News here with Adrien Agrest, a supermodel representing his father's brand Agrest Fashions. Adrien, how does it feel to be watching shows from the audience instead of behind the curtain?" The woman asked, pushing the microphone in his face.

"It's really an honor Kathleen. It's a ton of responsibility and I am happy to be moving up in the family business," he said with a joking tone, trying not to betray how much honor he felt representing his father.

"And who did you bring with you tonight? A girlfriend perhaps?" The reporter asked, holding the microphone between Mari and Adrien and waiting for one of them to talk. Mari laughed a little.

"No, nothing like that. I'm just a family friend of the Agrests. Monsieur Agrest asked me to accompany Adrien to shows and take artistic notes. I'm delighted to be here on his behalf," Mari responded kindly, looking at Kathleen rather than the large camera that followed her around.

"Being brought on by a highly regarded fashion designer during fashion week is no small feat, and neither is getting to hang off the arm of one of the most eligible young men in Paris. How did you manage such a feat?" She asked Marinette, the newcomer apparently a bigger scoop than the supermodel.

"Honestly I didn't do anything. Adrien put me up for the position when he found he needed a plus-one," she replied, looking at her date. He blushed slightly, in spite of trying to look composed for the camera. Kathleen moved the microphone over to him.

"What can I say? When my father said he needed someone with a designer's eye to accompany him, I knew Marinette was the girl for the job. She exceeds the requirements, plus she is a pleasure to spend time with," Adrien said, trying to be honest without giving everything away. What he said was true, but he omitted how there was nobody he would rather spend hours seated next to and going to parties with than Marinette.

"Not to mention she is a complete knockout. Time to finally ask the question everyone watching wants to know, who are you wearing?" Kathleen continued with a small laugh, taking the microphone back to Mari.

"Well seeing as I am an Agrest Fashions representative, it seemed only fitting that I wear an Agrest original, but I plan to wear some of my own designs at upcoming shows," Mari answered. Kathleen smiled again.

"Well I hope I'm there to see you rock the runway again," the reporter finished, turning back to her camera. They walked down the runway again, back to moving slowly instead of standing still, and they didn't encounter any more reporters until they got inside. They found their seats and got ready for the show to begin.

x-x-x-x-x

"The final show in this Parisian Fashion week is finally upon us, The Agrest Fashion Haute Couture Runway. Every celebrity in Paris seems to have turned up tonight, from Socialites to Politicians. Let's see who we have on the red carpet," A reporter said before making her way over to Adrien and Marinette who were greeting the president's daughter.

"It looks like we have a couple of celebrities over here. Eloise Butler, daughter of President Edward Butler, Adrien Agrest, son of the designer who is showing tonight, and his friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng," She said winking at the camera.

It had become obvious that to anyone following the fashion week festivities that there was something going on between the two young people. Besides always wearing impeccably matching outfits, the supermodel couldn't stop staring at his "friend" with a look of wonder and happiness, while the designer, who had shown some amazing looks on the last two red carpets, seemed to be mostly interested in the festivities, but would occasionally sneak an admiring look at her "friend".

"I'm Fifi Dupont, for Vogue American. Miss Butler, Miss Dupain-Cheng, Mr Agrest, it is lovely to see you all at this very exciting event. Miss Butler, who are you wearing tonight?"

"Oh, it's a Christian Siriano. He's an American designer, but I really admire his personal philanthropy, so I asked him to dress me for the event," The tall, glamorous redhead told the reporter. She was wearing a sleeveless purple lace gown with a high neckline and gold lace appliques.

"And you Miss Dupain-Cheng?" She continued, eyeing Marinette's look. She was wearing an old mauve colored sheath dress with a halter neck that was layered by a thin layer of lilac tulle adorned with lavender 3D rose appliques. She had paired it with white pumps, a lavender clutch, and a messy high ponytail. She had made smaller roses and attached them to pins to accent her hair.

"Oh, I designed it," Marinette replied with a smile. Adrien looked so proud, even though he hadn't done anything.

"Well it fits you like a glove, just like everything else you have worn this season. Maybe we will be on the red carpet at your fashion show someday," Fifi said jovially. She thanked them before moving onto another celebrity.

After breaking away from Eloise, who wanted to go talk with Chloe, Adrien and Marinette worked their way down the red carpet and to their seats next to the curtain. They waited for the lights to dim before Gabriel stepped out onto the runway to address his guests.

"Thank you all for being here today. This year's collection is inspired by heroism. It focuses on both the strength and fragility of those who put a cause ahead of themselves. Enjoy," he said with the smallest of smiles and a bow of his head. He then walked back off the runway and the music began.

The show was fabulous, Gabriel had mixed structural materials like leather and metal with delicate lace and tulle. Marinette's favorite piece was a grey leather mermaid gown with a silver lace back and silver veil. It gave a feeling of secrecy and vulnerability that she often felt when she was Ladybug. Like no matter how tough she was from the outside looking in, she still had her weaknesses.

The show was followed by a luxurious after party. After holding herself back at the parties of other designers, since she was merely a guest and not a representative, she felt like she could actually let herself have a little fun at this one. SHe hadn't realized it, but even if she had had fun at the other shows, all the networking and watching and critiquing had been stressful. Now she could just drink the free champagne, talk openly and without judgement about her thoughts on the show, and have a fun night.

Adrien and her walked into the ballroom at the Musee d'Orsay arm in arm, like they had gone everywhere this week. When they got into the edge of the crowd, Adrien separated himself from Marinette to grab them drinks, returning to her side not a moment later to see Chloe making her way towards them.

"Oh Adrikins, I can't believe it has taken us all week to see each other!" Their classmate said, throwing her arms around Adrien's shoulders. He patted her lightly on the back and prying her off him.

"Yeah, we attended a few of the same shows, a wonder we didn't run into each other," he told her, avoiding her eyes. The reason he and Mari hadn't talked to the blonde all week had been because they were actively avoiding her. Even though her and Marinette were not longer venomous towards each other, Adrien knew Mari would prefer not to have to talk to her, and had been steering them apart. Marinette downed her champagne and grabbed another off a waiter's tray as he passed by.

"You look well-dressed Chloe," Marinette said. She tried not to compliment Chloe on anything that is actually her fault, but seeing as someone else obviously dressed her she felt she should mention it. It is what one does at a fashion show.

"Thank you! It is a Marchesa, it was originally black but I asked him to change it to this darling thundercloud and he couldn't say no. Couture is amazing," She said, Marinette gave her a tight smile, "Anyway, Adrien we simply simply must get lunch sometime soon, I'll call you!" She said, kissing him quickly on the cheek before walking off to bother someone else.

"How did we manage to avoid seeing her?" Marinette said, starting on what Adrien thought to be her third glass of champagne.

"I may have been avoiding her," he admitted, finishing his first glass. Marinette tilted her head.

"She's your friend, why wouldn't you want to see her?" She inquired.

"So you wouldn't have to talk to her. I know you don't particularly like her," Adrien said, suddenly a little embarrassed that he had been working so hard just to make Mari comfortable, when she probably wouldn't have cared. Marinette blushed, realising he had been putting in extra effort just so she didn't have to talk to Chloe.

"You didn't have to do that," she said, trying to pass it off as no big deal, even though they were both fully aware that it mattered.

"Father, an excellent show!" Adrien said, Gabriel manifesting in front of them out of the crowd.

"Thank you Adrien," he said before turning to Marinette "My dear, Nathalie tells me everyone has been incredibly impressed by you all week. I'm told you have been knowledgeable, genial, and stylish every single night this week," He told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you sir. From you it is the highest of praise," Mari replied with a polite smile, cognisant of how Gabriel had pretty much blown off Adrien.

"Well I must be going, lots of people to talk to. Enjoy yourself tonight, and I hope to see you again soon. At dinner perhaps," the designer said before moving along.

 **As always, Thanks for Reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I did end up writing M rated side-chapter, so if you want to read that it is "Love Over Time: The Sexy Expansion". Now back to our regularly scheduled programming**

"Everything is perfect Mari. It looks professional and elegant and still shows your unique perspective," Alya said as they scrolled through every main page of Marinette's online store. Every item was listed, had photographs posted of her three models wearing it, and described perfectly. The website was a baby blue background with white boxes containing all the content and a crisp font.

"Are you sure using navy text is a good choice? Wouldn't black be more classic?" Marinette worried. Alya rolled her eyes.

"I know this store is your baby, but if you keep worrying about such little things, you will never launch. It is time you just press the button," she assured. Marinette took a deep breath and clicked on the button that would make her site public, setting a time delay so it would open at exactly 6pm.

It was three weeks after fashion week and it was a week into february. It was a little bit later than she had expected to open her store, but with going to the shows she hadn't had time to work and had gotten behind. After the Agrest show it had taken a little while for the excitement to wear off. Her styling of the silver high-low Agrest dress she had worn to the Dior show had landed her in Teen Vogue's Best Dressed list, where they claimed she had paired the garment with "plum sandals, a deep lip, and seductive curls." She had also been called by Voici magazine asking her about her relationship with Adrien. It had eventually all died down and she was able to get done both her school work and her store.

"That's my girl!" Alya said hugging her friend, "Now post about the store everywhere!" she told her friend Marinette looked exasperated.

"What? I'm not going to do that, it's like spamming my meager followers with an advertisement," Mari said with a shake of her head. Alya took out her phone.

"If you don't I will, and it will look less credible if the store is announced by anyone other than the designer herself," Alya said, opening up the website and screenshotting it before opening instagram.

"No no, fine I'll do it," Marinette opened facebook, instagram, and twitter and wrote a quick post saying how excited she was to be launching her store and adding a link and a picture. She had Alya triple check them and make sure each post was suitable for the different mediums and posted them. Alya quickly shared all of them, adding on how proud she was of Marinette and mentioning that supplies are very limited, so everyone who wants something should sign up now.

x-x-x-x-x

The next day Marinette had to silence her phone in class to keep it from going off every five seconds. When she had woken up her email indicated that she had a handful of orders in already. If the rate kept up, which based on her long bar of notifications it was, she would be completely sold out for the month in two days.

By the time she got around to checking her phone at lunch, she had to be almost at full order capacity. All of her classmates congratulated her, and a few said they had already ordered stuff.

"Hey Marinette," Adrien said, walking down the hall with Alya from their Mathematics class. "Congrats on your store opening. I love the site design," Adrien said, implying that he had already given her store a good look-over.

"I had this idea when I woke up this morning and I was talking it over with Adrien, and he also thought it is a great idea," Alya said. Marinette nodded for her to go on. "What if you auctioned off the three of your designs you wore to the fashion week shows! You could start this saturday or something and auction one off every week!" Alya said excitedly. Marinette was skeptical.

"I don't think people will pay money for a dress that probably won't fit them just because someone wore it on the red carpet," she replied. Adrien shook his head.

"Honestly, people with money will buy anything. If someone thinks you are the next big thing, they would pay any price for one of your original designs. It's like an art collection type thing," Adrien assured her, "it would be a great use of the looks if you aren't planning on wearing them again anyway," he finished before walking away to talk to Nino.

"Your boyfriend just told you it was a good idea, so I assume you will do it?" Alya said, playfully shoving Mari, who started to blush.

"He isn't my boyfriend. You know I just went to fashion week with him as a friend," she defended. Alya smirked.

"Mmmhmmm. Of course, just really good friends who look at each other longingly while the other isn't paying attention," the redhead joked. Marinette blushed deeper.

"You know that Oops totally used those photos out of context!" Marinette replied, knowing her friend was talking about the speculative article the tabloid magazine had run about her and Adrien, using images where one of them was talking and the other was gazing at them. She had just been polite, looking at Adrien while he spoke, it wasn't like she was enraptured by how he looked in those gorgeous suits and with his hair and makeup done to make him look even more handsome than normal. And she was sure he was just looking at her politely too. "Just drop it, if something was going to happen between Adrien and I it would have happened by now." she finished with a sigh.

Spending so much time with Adrien alone over fashion week had awakened the dormant feels she had had for him. Seeing him congratulate designers on their collections and be so nice and gentlemanly to every single reporter who wanted to talk with them made her remember that he was the sweet boy she had fallen for two years ago.

"So will you do it?" Alya said, stopping in front of Marinette's door before they went in to grab lunch.

"Oh uh yeah sure!" she said, agreeing to whatever good idea Alya had proposed earlier that had completely been chased out of her mind by her thoughts of Adrien.

 **As always thanks for reading. I appreciate all of you who write those nice long comments, but if you want to comment don't feel obligated to write an essay. I love feedback no matter how small!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Adrien that is really just too much. I couldn't let you do that," Marinette replied.

"Why can't my friends just be gold diggers and let me spoil them?" He asked rhetorically. He had offered to take Marinette, Alya, and Nino out to dinner to celebrate the success of Mari's store, but she was having none of it. Plus, she was super busy filling orders.

"Because then we wouldn't be your friends bro," Nino replied, slinging his free arm over Adrien's shoulders. Adrien sighed.

"I guess I will have to go to that fancy new Chinese restaurant alone. I'll just have to eat the dozen shrimp dumplings, chicken and broccoli, and pork fried rice all by myself," he lamented, dramatically pulling away from his friend's arm and looking off into the distance. Alya shook her head.

"Well when you put it that way, there is no way we can say no," she replied , giving in to Adrien's dramatics. Mari thought she saw Alya wink at Nino, but she wasn't sure.

"Does friday work for everyone? Mari you can set up the auction for the first look you are auctioning off before you go, so you aren't really losing any working time," Adrien reasoned. It did make sense she guessed. She, with Alya's help had publicized that she would auction off one of her original fashion week pieces over three weeks, and the buzz around it was already crazy. Apparently Adrien had been right, even no-name fashion was sellable if it had walked the red carpet.

"Sure, it sounds like a fun night," she told him. He said he would pick everyone up around seven thirty. They finished their coffees and started back towards school to make it before the bell.

x-x-x-x-x

"Where are Nino and Alya?" Marinette asked, climbing into the limo. Adrien slid in next to her, but gave her some personal space. God knows they had it. Adrien ran his had through his already tousled hair.

"Alya didn't tell you? Her aunt came to town for a surprise visit and wanted to take her and Nino out to dinner," He replied. Marinette rolled her eyes as the car started moving.

"Sure she did. Her only aunt that lives in Jamaica came to visit without notice. Classic,"

They didn't talk on the way to the restaurant, where they were seated at a table for four. As Marinette threw her coat over her chair he saw that she was wearing one of the looks from her store, a blush pink dress with burgundy lace roses climbing up the side.

"You look great Mari. That dress looks like it was made for you," he said with an exaggerated wink. She snorted and looked at the appetizer menu the waiter placed down in front of her. It was full of fancy sounding chinese inspired dishes.

"What are you thinking of getting?" Adrien said, looking at her over his own menu.

"Well I really like duck, but I can't eat a whole thing of dumplings and then an entree, so would you be interested in splitting the duck dumplings?" she asked in response. He nodded, and signaled to their server, who was over in an instant.

"We'll have an order of duck dumplings to start. Can I also get the wine menu?" Adrien requested. Without blinking the server gave it to him. Even though they were both underage in France, being a very wealthy celebrity did have it's perks.

"Adrien the wine here is probably like a zillion dollars, you really shouldn't," Mari insisted before taking a sip of her water. She did like wine though.

"What is the point of money if you can't spend it on your friends when they deserve it?" He said without taking his eyes off the menu, which he was using to hide a smile. He couldn't help it, something about spoiling Marinette just felt so right.

When the waiter returned with their dumplings Adrien ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and a cheese platter.

"Adrien, if you keep ordering stuff we will be here all night. I know you want to celebrate but," Marinette trailed off. Adrien sighed.

"Mari you deserve this. You are achieving your dreams and doing exactly what you want to do. I'm envious, and I am channeling that envy into expensive wine," he told her honestly.

He still didn't really know what he wanted to do. He had resigned himself to going to business school and then eventually taking over his father's company, but certainty didn't give him any joy. There were only a few things he really enjoyed, with the top two being spending time with his friends and helping people as Chat Noir, but neither of those really translated into a job.

"Adrien," Marinette said, suddenly serious as she reached out and placed her hand on top of his, "you have no need to envy me. You have perfect grades, friends who care about you, and a bright future in business ahead of you," she told him. While what she said was true, he couldn't explain how he still felt dissatisfied, so he changed the subject.

"Friends who care about me huh? Then where are Alya and Nino?" He joked. Marinette rolled her eyes, falling back into the casualness of a few minutes before.

"Honestly I can't believe they just ditched! Her aunt came into town, I can't believe she thought I would buy that!" Marinette said.

"This is worse than last week when they skipped out on group study to babysit. At least that was genuine," Adrien confirmed, sipping the wine that had been poured into their glasses.

"It's annoying, but I think I would do the same thing. If I adored another person as much as they adore each other, I would spend every moment I could with them," Marinette mused. Adrien nodded, his thoughts again drifted to Ladybug, and how he wished he had more time with her.

 **As always reviewing is appreciated!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Adrien, your father would like to see you in his office," Nathalie said over the house intercom, not even bothering to come upstairs to ask. Adrien sighed, paused his video game, and got off his couch. He walked through the house, his footsteps echoing through the barren hallways until he reached the door to his father's office, which was uncharacteristically ajar. He knocked on it anyway.

"Come in," his father called, more jovial than Adrien had expected. Adrien stepped into the large room and approached his father's desk. Gabriel looked up at him.

"How is your school work?" He asked, stopping his typing. This felt very weird to Adrien. Normally if his dad had an order Nathalie just passed it on, this must be big.

"Oh it's fine. I did all the work that was due, did all the readings for this week, and transcribed my notes from last week," Adrien answered. His father expected him to be on top of every single one of his subjects. Fail was not an object.

"I'm told you have an exam in history on friday," his father stated. Adrien didn't know if this was a question but he answered anyway.

"That's correct," the boy replied. Gabriel nodded.

"Your designers friend, Miss Dupain-Cheng is in that class correct?" His father asked. Adrien tensed. For some reason he didn't like it when his father took interest in Marinette. He knows it is probably just because they are both designers, but he can't help feel defensive when his father brought her up.

"Yes, but I don't - " Adrien started to reply. Gabriel gave a tight smile.

"Excellent. Invite her over to study on Thursday. We'll have dinner," Gabriel stated crisply, not letting Adrien finish. He then promptly went back to typing, as if Adrien wasn't even there.

Adrien took the hint and left the office, closing the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and pulled up Marinette's contact. It had been almost a month since their dinner together at La Petite Lotus, and they hadn't spent any time together since. It had been really fun, and Adrien had debated asking her to hang out again, but whenever he ate lunch with Nino, Alya, and her she seemed so busy with her store. He didn't want to add himself to her obligations list. However, now he didn't really have a choice. He hit call.

"Hey Mari, are you free on Thursday?"

X-x-x-x-x

"There is absolutely no way that this is not a date," Alya said during lunch on Thursday. They were in Marinette's kitchen eating sandwiches. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Dinner at his house, with his dad, as a date? I know Adrien hasn't had a girlfriend but I think he knows better then to come up with that as a first date," Marinette replied. Adrien had said his father had come up with the idea, and he had no reason to say no.

"Pu-lease, this would be like the tenth date, or at least the second," the redhead assured.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Marinette said through the Ham and Cheese in her mouth.

"Come on girl, I know you don't count the fashion week shows, but when you guys went to the fancy chinese food place for your celebration dinner that was totally a date," Alya said sternly. Marinette shook her head.

"Just because they two of us were alone in a restaurant does not make it a date. There was no romantic intention," Marinette protested.

It was almost a month ago that she and Adrien had gone out to eat to celebrate the opening of her online boutique. She had gone over it with Alya a dozen times, two people eating together because their friends ditched them does not make a date. Since then she had been so busy filling orders the only time she had spent with her friends had been lunches and the occasional study sessions. If it had been a date, Adrien would have tried to arrange some alone time with her since then.

"Yeah yeah, so what are you going to wear?" Alya asked, moving from the kitchen to the stairs up to Marinette's room. Mari finished her sandwich and followed her up.

"So I was thinking my highwaisted leather pants," she started pulling the maroon vegan leather skin tight pants from her closet, "and my gold chiffon blouse,"

x-x-x-x-x

Adrien had had fencing practice after school, so Marinette went home to get ready before he would come pick her up. She pulled on her outfit, straightened her hair, which she had been religiously keeping at shoulder length, and swiped on some mascara. She was having dinner with Gabriel Agreste, so she wanted to look great, but effortless. When Adrien texted her that he was pulling up she slung the black messenger bag she used for school over her shoulder and headed downstairs. She stepped out of the side door to the bakery just as Adrien's car pulled up to the curb. She opened the door and slid into the backseat next to Adrien himself. He was wearing a navy blue button up and jeans and his hair was damply hanging down around his face from his post-practice shower. He reminded her of someone. Chat Noir.

She had tried not to think about her partner too often. She hadn't known much about his personal life, except that he had more fun as Chat than he did day to day, but that was it. The most thought she ever let herself give to him was to hope he was well, wherever her was. If she thought to much about him, about their time together, she started to miss him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as the car started moving again. She had been staring. She shook her head to dismiss the slight dejavu.

"It's nothing, you just reminded me of someone else with your hair like that," his hands instinctively went to his damp locks.

"Does it look bad? I didn't have time to style it after practice, but I will as soon as we get to the house," he said, fretting unnecessarily. Marinette put her hand on the hand he was running through his hair and brought it down.

"It doesn't look bad at all, but you should probably style it before dinner with your father," she said, drawing her hand away from his to keep it from getting awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you're right," he answered. They talked the weather, which had been surprisingly nice for mid-March. They kept up the small talk until the door opened in front of the Agrest mansion.

 **Keep up with the comments and other forms of feedback! Love y'all!**


	15. Chapter 15

The teens walked into the foyer after Nathalie, who had overseen the preparations for the dinner but would evidently not being staying for the meal. Adrien thought that was rather unfortunate, seeing as Nathalie was a little bit more on his side than his father ever was. Nathalie led Marinette to the sitting room while Adrien went up to his room to pull himself together.

A servant came over and asked if she would like an appetizer, or an apperif, both of which she declined. She was too nervous. She both idolized Gabriel Agreste's design prowess, and despised his treatment of Adrien. No matter how much of a genius he was, there was no excuse for treating a child like a doll. Even though he had give Adrien minisculely more freedom in the last few years, after the boy had fought tooth and nail for it, he still put way too much responsibility on Adrien's young shoulders.

The servant disappeared and returned moments later with a small tray of mini quiche and two small tumblers filled with ice and red liquid, each garnished with a slice of lemon. Marinette looked at him.

"Really I'm fine. I am underage anyway," Marinette told the man, but he shook his head.

"It will take you forever to get to any filling food, and trust me, you want some liquid courage if you will be sitting through a dinner with Gabriel Agreste," he assured her, before turning and going to stand next to the door to the dining room.

Marinette ate one of the appetizers while sipping the drink, which was stronger than wine but not as strong as whisky. As she started on her second quiche, Adrien entered the room and sat down in the armchair on the other side of the table with the refreshments. He immediately ate one of the snacks before downing the drink.

"Are you ready?" Adrien asked, looking at a lightly concern Marinette.

"I think so, but this may be much worse than I had prepared for," she replied, finishing her own drink.

"Did you prepare for an hour and a half of questioning?"

"I don't think i even have an hour and half of answers in me," she said with a slight laugh.

The door to the dining room swung open and the pair jumped out of their seats as Gabriel stepped into the room and walked over to them. He approached Adrien first, putting his hand on his son's shoulder as a greeting before turning to Marinette.

"Mme Dupain-Cheng, you look as excellent as always," he man said, lifting her hand to kiss it. "Let us take our seats," he said, leading them back into the room from which he had emerged.

The three of them were seated at the windowed end of the long room, with Gabriel at the head and Adrien and Marinette to either side. In the center of their little arrangement was a candelabra and a basket full of rose-shaped rolls. The napkins were black with pale gold rings and all of the cutlery was gold, all of which complimented her ensemble nicely.

Then the questions started. Gabriel asked her about her health, her parents, and her opinions on the weather. She answered simply, but in a light tone to keep awkwardness settling on the conversation. He never turned to ask Adrien anything, only acknowledging him when Marinette mentioned the boy in one of her answers.

There was an extra layer of balancing in the dinner as well, anything that Gabriel did, Marinette and Adrien parroted. When Gabriel picked up and buttered a roll, they followed suit. When the fish course was served, they ate at the exact same pace. When they eventually reached the cheese course, over an hour into the meal, the questions turned more probing.

"Do you have plans for after graduation?" Gabriel asked his guest. Interesting, Adrien thought, and Gabriel seemed to have no interest in his son's collegiate aspirations.

"Well I plan to go to design school, hopefully either Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture or ESMOD, but I have very good Italian and English, so I am applying to Istituto Marangoni in Milan and The Royal College of Art in London as well," Marinette told him. She had an inkling that her design prowess is the reason for this dinner.

"All excellent schools," He said, sipping his wine. Shortly after Adrien and Marinette sipped theirs as well.

"Yes, I have actually just started properly organizing my portfolio in preparation for my applications," she continued, hoping to speed up their conversation slightly, as she did have some work she had wanted to get done at home after this.

"That's not the only thing you have been working on either, I hear. My assistant tells me you have started your own online boutique. Is it going well?" He asked, taking some cheese, onto a cracker.

"Better than I had expected, but I suppose that is mostly due to the publicity I gained during Fashion Week and the excellent social media that my friend runs for me,"

"Mmmmmmm, you are also quite talented. Do not discount yourself," Gabriel said to that, which was probably the most motivational think Adrien had ever heard from his lips. Gabriel turned to his son surprisingly.

"Nathalie told me you two went out for dinner with your friends a few weeks ago. How was the restaurant?" He asked his son. From there on out the questions were directed at both of them, about what they had been doing together and what plans they had. Even though the question were about them, the kind that parents who were genuinely interested in their children's lives asked, from Gabriel they still managed to sound hollow and rehearsed.

The cheese course was followed my a delightful white chocolate raspberry mousse with lycee glaze. When they had all finished those, it was after 10 and Marinette had to be getting home. She thanked Gabriel with a slight bow before letting herself out to the cab that had been called for her. Once she was gone Adrien turned to his father.

"What was tonight really about?" He asked. Gabriel merely turned and began to leave before responding over his shoulder.

"Mme Dupain-Cheng is excellent company. I hope to see more of her,"

 **Sorry this chapter has been so slow-coming. I don't have a good excuse, as I am not in classes this spring, I am just easily distracted by other projects. Feel free to leave a "more plz" review in like 2 weeks if I don't update.**

 **That being said, I am highly motivated by y'all's feedback, so REVIEW, FOLLOW, and FAVORITE. Nothing makes me feel better than knowing other people enjoy what I do!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Yo I know that this isn't her birthday** _ **in canon**_ **but like I have had this fic outlined since 2016 so let me be.**

"Ok now your ready," Sabine said, tucking the lily into the clip that was holding half of her hair back.

Marinette was wearing a deep sky blue chiffon dress with silver piping and a mandarin collar supported by horsehair, and she looked ready for a party. Her mom had done her hair and make-up, per Alya's request while her friend set up for the party in the park. It was a beautiful April evening and Marinette's seventeenth birthday.

She grabbed her small blue bag and headed for the exit. When she stepped onto the street she was surprised to find Adrien walking towards her from the direction of the park. He took his hand out of his pocket and gave her a small wave as he approached.

"Alya said you shouldn't have to walk anywhere alone and sent me to come get you," he said by way of explanation, offering her his elbow. He was dressed in light blue chinos and a black button down with the sleeve rolled up to expose his muscular forearms.

"That might be a little excessive, but you are already here," Marinette said, silently cursing Alya for sending this dreamy dreamy man her way, linking her arm lightly through his as she had during fashion week as they started towards the party.

"How has your day been so far? Everything been to your liking?" He asked as they walked. She nodded and smiled.

"Mmmhmm. Papa made my favorite breakfast and then I had a nice easy day designing patterns for some accessories," she told him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Like the patterning pieces or fabric patterns?" He asked. He wasn't a designer, but he did have some inkling of what went into making clothes.

"Oh uh, a little bit of both I guess, but mostly fabric patterns. It was really nice doing some design work that was just me, working out ideas, and nothing for the store," she confided in him. Before he could ask why that was, they arrived at the park.

"Happy Birthday!" All of their friends yelled. Most of them were people Marinette had been in classes with for years, even Chloe, who wasn't completely insufferable anymore, was there. There were also some faces of some of her friends from her art classes, like Amy, Chandler, and Betty with whom she had done a collaborative midterm during her first semester of lycee, and Winston and Carly, the Canadian siblings who had transferred in two semesters ago.

Adrien took a step away from her so she could recieve all of the waiting hugs from the guests. Marinette thanked every single person for coming, complimented the girl's outfits, blushing when one of them was wearing something she had made for them as a gift or they had bought from her store.

After night had fallen and the cake had been cut they moved on to presents. There was a generous stack of gifts from her friends, and it wasn't for the first time that Marinette realised that she had the most amazing friends in the entire world. Many of the gifts were touching and personal, A set of personalized sewing scissors from Nathanael, a beautiful new sketchbook from Rose, a silk scarf patterned with her signature from Chloe, a "worlds best designer" fanny pack from Kim, and something completely unexpected from Adrien.

"I can't accept this," she said, looking in shock at the blonde. He shrugged.

"It's a gift, you have to accept it," he told her. She looked down at the lilac and mauve tulle gown in the box she had just unwrapped. It was the dress she had worn to the Agreste fashion show in January. The one she had auctioned off for an obscene amount of money.

"Fine, but we are going to talk about this," She said, putting away the gown and moving onto the next gift.

Adrien stepped back so another of her friends could give her a present. He stepped right into Winston, who had been just about to tap him on the shoulder.

"Oh sorry man," the other boy said, stepping back to make some space between them.

"No, it's my fault. What's up?" Adrien asked. He liked Winston, he had an upfront and friendly, almost obsequious nature, and was always ready to lend a hand. He guessed it was some sort of Canadian charm.

"So I know you and Marinette sort of have a thing," Winston started. Adrien pursed his lips.

"We really don't, we are just close friends," Adrien replied, even though he didn't quite like it. Winston smiled.

"Oh that's good. I was just going to ask, since you guys seemed like you may have had something going on, if it would be ok if I asked her out. But if you guys are just friends, I guess I don't really need to ask," Winston said, turning to go. Adrien caught his arm.

"We might not have something "going on", but it would still be a little bit weird for me if you asked her out," he admitted. Winston smiled a little sadly.

"That's kinda what I was expecting. Ok well, good luck with her," Winston said vaguely before walking off towards his sister, who appeared to be flirting with Sabrina next to a minorly perturbed looking Chloe.

X-x-x-x-x

The party had wound down and now it was just Nino, Alya, Mylene, Ivan, Rose, Juleka, Adrien, and Marinette. Marinette's parents had shown up an hour before and taken her gifts, saying that they were locking up so she should use the back door.

The night was still and they were playing cards on one of park tables. The game was called kemps and required teams of two, so Marinette and Adrien were working together to try to win the last slice of cake. The game involved using signals to acquire a full set of cards and let your partner know, and they were surprisingly in sync, despite that Marinette was still not happy that he had gotten her such an extravagant gift.

After the game, which they only lost because Mylene was able to figure out their signal. Adrien volunteered to walk her home, saying his ride could pick him up from their just as easily. Marinette agreed, but only because it would give her an opportunity to give back the dress.

"You are going to have to take it back. I can't keep it," she told him as they walked side by side towards the bakery. He shook his head.

"What would I do with it? Go down a red carpet in drag? No, I think it is better in your hands," he told her, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her try to come up with a way to get him to take it back.

"Why did you do it? You outbid the dozens of other people who wanted that dress, just to give it back to me? Why?" she puzzled, looking up at his face.

"Because I saw it in a movie and I thought it was really sweet," he told her, and it was true. They had both watched Confessions of a Shopaholic with Alya over winter break, and Adrien had been touched by the ending scene where the guy gave the girl the scarf that was a part of her identity. He had hoped this gesture would be kind-of similar, but without them getting together. Not that he would mind them getting together, but he knew Marinette and he knew expensive gifts were not going to win her over.

"First of all, the scenarios here are very different," she started. They were just across the street from her home, and she knew she was running out of time to convince him to take it back.

"I also thought you looked really great in it, and wanted you to have a reminder of Fashion Week, seeing as you auctioned off all the looks you wore," he confessed. Her cheeks heated. She turned to look at him, one hand on the side-door up to her family's apartment.

"You thought I looked great in it?" she asked, a confused. She did remember him saying something to that effect when she wore it to the Agreste show, but that was just him being polite, this was more. His car pulled up behind him.

"I always think you look great," he said, leaning in an giving her a quick cheek kiss before getting into his car, and drove off.

 **Hey y'all thanks for reading and reviewing! I've got a buffer all built up and I am excited to get into the ~juicy~ stuff of this fic. We are going to try to go for a weekly Thursday update schedule, with the occasional Sunday update if I am working really fast. Have a great week!**


	17. Chapter 17

Marinette had broken. She stared off at where Adrien's car had disappeared for at least five minutes before pulling herself together and going upstairs. She flopped down on her bed and was immediately called by Alya.

"So how was your walk home with Adrien?" she said, heavily suggesting that she thought there were juicy details.

"Oh my god," she say by way of opening, and Alya squealed.

"Did he make a move? Did you make a move? You have to tell me!" The redhead insisted. Marinette recounted her walk home, which while not exactly what Alya was hoping, was still in the right direction.

"He said he always thinks you look great. That is an obvious clue that he is attracted to you. Even you can't be bull-headed enough not to see that," Alya told Mari, who had the phone on speaker while she changed into her sleep clothes.

"He might have meant it more aesthetically. Like he appreciates me as if I was a piece of art?" Marinette tried to reason, coming up with literally any reason, no matter how dumb, to keep from realising the reality of the situation.

"Guys don't normally kiss pieces of art babe. Why can't you just be happy about this? He got you an expensive gift, he told you you are beautiful, and he gave you a tender kiss! He is falling for you!" Alya shouted into the phone. Marinette laid down.

"Maybe you are right, but maybe you aren't. It could be something else," Marinette said, not wanting to hear any more assurances and hanging up.

When she drifted off to sleep she dreamed of standing on a balcony, Adrien's arms around her.

x-x-x-x-x

 _What did I just do? What the FUCK did I just do?_ Adrien thought during the drive home. He honestly had no idea what had prompted it. One minute he was telling her that she had looked really good at the Agreste show, the next he was telling her how beautiful she was and kissing her cheek. Then he just left.

 _Why the did I leave? Why the FUCK did I leave?_ His thoughts drifted to. He didn't know what he would have done if he had stayed? Actually kissed her? Asked her on a real date? He would have probably just stood there awkwardly. No, leaving was the right choice. The overdramatic choice, but the right one.

God he needed help. He dialed Nino.

"What's up man?" Nino said, sounding tired, but when he heard Adrien ramble about his walk with Mari, his voice perked right up.

"Dude that is great! You finally made a move! And Alya and I didn't even have to trick you!" Nino said. Adrien could just imaging him pumping his fist.

"So you guys WERE ditching Marinette and I to throw us together. Dick," Adrien said. He had sort of suspected it, but wasn't totally sure. Even if he had been, who would he have tol? Marinette?

"Who cares it totally worked! What is your next move?" Nino asked, hoping to get a little more actionable intelligence from his friend, both because he was excited and because he had a girlfriend who would want to know everything.

"I don't have one. I didn't even know I was making that first move until it was already over," Adrien confessed. Nino sighed on the other end of the line and Adrien got out of the car and headed inside.

"Well you are crushing on her right? The feelings are coming on?" Nino asked. Adrien nodded, and then replied.

"Yeah, at least I think so. How do I like make it more clear to her that I am into her, without making everything awkward?" Adrien asked, when he stepped into the foyer, his father was waiting for him. "I got to go,"

Gabriel was trying to stand casually on the stairs, his hand on the banister as he tried a slouch. It was very unusual, as he normally stood center stage with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Ah Adrien. You are making it back just before curfew," he said in what was hopefully a conversational tone. Adrien only heard ice.

"But it is before curfew, isn't it? What is the problem?" the boy asked, looking at his father, thinking he was acting strangely.

"No problem. I just wanted to ask if Mme Dupain Cheng had a nice party?" He said, still with the same slightly more intoned version of his normal voice. To Adrien it sounded almost threatening, and he very much did not like it, but he wasn't going to call his father out. That had never ended well.

"The party was fun. Marinette's friends like her a lot and that showed tonight," Adrien replied. Hoping these tidbits would be enough.

"Excellent. I hope to see her again soon. Perhaps you could invite her to the launch party for the Agrest/Jain accessory line. It is a few weeks from now," His father asked, raising an eyebrow. And with that, Adrien knew his next move.

 **Sorry for such a short chapter. It be like that sometimes. Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh no guys it happened again. I got too ambitious and gave up on a fic. Since my love for Miraculous has really been reduced to cinders recently, I have decided to give this work the old "I didn't want to write it but I already had it fully plotted so I'll just post the outline treatment"**

 **That is, after I give all 100+ of you guys who follow this the 18th chapter I finished months ago and never published!**

"Mari, wait up!" Adrien called after his friend when she saw her heading towards the front doors of the school to head home for lunch. She turned to look at him, her cheeks a little red as if she had been caught in avoiding him. When he caught up to her he smiled sort of awkwardly. Trying to stay up beat, but knowing that there is some sort of weird energy between them right now.

"H-hi Adrien. How was your weekend?" She asked, mimicking his awkward smile.

"It was pretty good. Actually, I wanted to invite you to a launch party for the new Agreste accessory line. It's next Saturday," Adrien asked, scratching the back of his neck. Marinette just stared. She wasn't sure if this was more of a fashion week-style industry event thing he was inviting her to because he needs knowledgeable company. Or a party that he wanted her to attend as his date.

"That would be the two Saturdays from now. Not the one in five days, but the one after that. The first Saturday in May," he babbled, hoping that her hesitant was over if she was free that evening, not over attending an event with him. Marinette wa pulled from her thought by this and gave a more genuine smile.

"Sure sounds great. What is the dress code," she asked, taking another step towards the front door, because she did actually have to run home and grab something to eat.

"Cocktail attire,"

X-x-x-x-x

Marinette spent all of her free time in the next two weeks altering her Agreste show dress to be cocktail appropriate. Adrien had given it back to her, and she would be damned if she didn't wear it again.

She changed the bust of the dress to be a v-neck that was a deep as she could fathom herself being comfortable in, rearranging the tulle to work with the new cuts. Then she went ahead and removed the lavender tulle that was making up the tail of the mermaid, making the only thing left a purple lace bodycon dress that hit just above her knees. Besides the fabric, nobody could tell it was the same dress, it would probably just be construed as part of the same collection.

When Alya zipped her into it before the party, Mari had to agree with her friend, she looked hot. Alya had done her makeup in a haze of purples, and given her hair a loose curl. She had accessorized with lavender earrings made of the same flowers on her dress, a dark purple clutch, and purple kitten heels. Alya stepped back and gave a wolf whistle.

"Damn girl, I'm straight and even I want to bang you when you look this good," the redhead told her friend. Marinette blushed, not that it could be seen under all the heavy makeup.

"Is it too much? This is technically a work party, are you sure this is appropriate?" the bluenette asked. Alya shook her head.

"Nope, I confirmed with my mom. When she catered the last Agreste launch party this was very much the tone," she assured. Before Marinette could doubt herself again, her phone buzzed, it was Adrien letting her know he was outside. Then she heard a knock at the door.

Marinette descended carefully from her room to see Adrien standing in the living room with her parents,wearing a black suit over an unbuttoned white suit, and his hair swept back. As dreamy as he may have looked, Marinette was determined to not lose her cool, pulling on her well practiced confidence. He turned to look at her as she entered.

His mouth opened as if to say something, but then just hung there. He was speechless. Marinette was stunning. The dress, the make-up, her attitude. If he hadn't been falling for her before, he definitely was now. It was only when she had walked over to him did he pick his jaw off the floor.

"Mari, you look great" He said as she looped her arm through his and gave him a kiss on the cheek, returning the one he had given her over two weeks ago.

"You think I always look great. Let's get going or we will be late," Marinette retorted. She called a goodbye to her parents as they stepped out into the evening, then into the waiting car.

"Is that the dress I gifted back to you?" He asked once they were settled. Her face turned worried.

"Is it that obvious that I am re-wearing it? Was it a bad idea?" she asked nervously, looking down at her dress and tugging lightly at the hem. Adrien shook his head.

"No don't worry about it. I can only tell because it had been hanging in my closet for weeks between me buying it and giving it to you. To anyone else it will look like a different piece in the same collection," he assured her. She relaxed a little. "Are you nervous? This won't be any different from the fashion show after parties, you'll have great time,"

When they stepped out of the car at the hotel where the party was being held, there was no red carpet, but their were photographers. Not nearly as many as the fashion week shows, and no reporters, but still plenty of flashing lights capturing the two teens as they exited the vehicle.

They walked arm-in-arm past the photographers, through the doors of the hotel, and towards the elevator that would take them to the penthouse ballroom where the party was. They rode in a silence that wasn't uncomfortable, but was heavy.

When they stepped out of the elevator, they were immediately swept up in the party. Valentina White, the designer who was heading the collaboration, saw them immediately and stepped over to great them. She kissed them on both cheeks and then stepped back a little to give them space, or what could be considered space in the crowded room.

"Don't you two look as stunning as ever. This look is so much better on you. It's less matchy matchy, and more chic. Very power couple," she told them. Before either of them could tell her that they were not a couple, the designer flitted away to greet the guests stepping out of the elevator behind them.

"I'm going to grab a snack, you want anything?" Marinette asked Adrien, hoping that by moving she might dispel some of the heat her nerves were generating.

"A drink," he said simply. She nodded and moved towards the bar and canape table. She ate a stuffed date before she grabbed two glasses of the signature cocktail of the night, which she was told was called a goldrush, and went back across the room to find Adrien. He was easy to pick-out, being over 6ft tall, and Marinette found him easily and passed him his drink. He was talking to an older man Marinette remembered from the Agreste show during fashion week, but couldn't name. He greeted her as if they were old friends.

"Marinette you look as gorgeous as always. If I had known girls like you in lycee, I might have considered dating them!" He said with a chuckle. Marinette laughed with him. "You are a lucky guy Adrien. If you will excuse me," He said before walking off. Marinette turned to the blond.

"Why does everyone think we are an item?" she asked him. He took a long drink before responding.

"We did come together, and we have been spotted having dinner together. The fashion industry is full of gossips, and we appear to be what they are talking about," He said, taking another drink. Marinette tried hers, finding it to be sour and sweet with a good amount of kick. She drank more before asking another question.

"Should we correct them?" she wondered out loud. Finishing his drink, Adrien turned to look her in the eyes.

"Do you really want to? Because I don't."

 **Stay tuned for a chapter that is just the outline of the next 14 chapters!**


	19. THE REST

**Here is the outline, as promised. I may be flakey, but I'm not so cruel as to leave you guys hanging eternally. Each paragraph was planned to be another chapter, starting with chapter 19.**

They go back to his place after because Marinette is tipsy and would rather not have her parents see that, but they are photographed leaving the party together. They hang out on a balcony, and they talk about the last time they were on a balcony together. They _finally_ kiss. Marinette goes home, where her parents are fast asleep, leaves them a fridge note saying she is home, and goes up to her room. She falls asleep in her underwear.

The next day she is awakened way too early by a phone call from Alya. She is told to check the gossip websites, which show her and Adrien leaving the party together, then arriving at his place together. Marinette explains that nothing happened, which Alya calls her on because Nino told her everything. Marinette 9/10 thought kissing Adrien was a dream. When Alya hangs up, Marinette barely has time to pick out a comfortable outfit for a day of stay at home and work, when Adrien calls. He asks if she made it home alright, she confirms, he asks if she maybe wants to go out for lunch. She says no because she is swamped with work and also embarrassed.

Adrien is crushed. He talks to Plagg about it, who is zero percent helpful. He then calls Nino, who he called right after Mari left, to talk it over, and he is also not super helpful as he is barely awake. He is then called down to his father's office, where he is shown the tabloid articles, and assumes that is why Mari turned him down, because she doesn't like being intruded on. He has a serious talk with his father about his future. Marinette runs into her parents, who barely follow important news, and know nothing about her adventures except that she had a good time.

At school on Monday both Adrien and Mari get badgered about if they are official or not. At lunch, Adrien asks if Marinette would mind having lunch with him, and she says yes, despite that people will talk, because they need to clear some shit up. At the same place as their first lunch, they discuss if they are a couple now. Mari tries to act nonchalant, asking if he wants them to be a couple. They both are very "I don't know what do you want to do?" while screaming internally. Eventually they determine not to label it, but that she would keep attending events with him.

After final exams, through which they did a good amount of comfortable platonic studying, there is the July fashion shows. The first night of the week long event exhausts Marinette so much that she just crashes at the Agreste house, sleeping in one of the long unused guest suites. This happens again the second night, and Adrien asks the next morning if she would like to just stay there until fashion week ended. After calling her mom, who thinks it is a fine idea, as long as she sleeps in a guest room, she accepts and goes home to get all her outfits for the rest of the week, along with some of the pieces she is working on for her store.

The third night, Marinette, tipsy again because she is all about champagne, falls asleep on the couch in Adrien's room, he carries her to his bed and goes to sleep on the couch but she stops him and pulls him down next to her. Trapped by her arm, he tries to get comfortable beside her and eventually falls asleep.

The next morning, Marinette wakes up alone in Adrien's room. She goes to look for him, stopping by the kitchen to get coffee, only to find him working out in the "fitness studio", shirtless. She watches him, not wanting to interrupt and also admiring the view, until he notices her standing in the doorway. She passes him his water from the bench by the door and asks why she woke up in his bed when she remembers falling asleep not in his bed. He explains, not mentioning the part about him sleeping there as well, but as he talks she totally remembers him being there.

They both shower and get dressed before heading out to get lunch at a hella trendy, celebrity favorite, cafe. They are photographed, which Adrien apologises for, but Marinette explains it doesn't really bother her. She has years of experience being photographed as ladybug, even if it had been a while. He is confused for a sec, before going back to gushing about his soup.

That night, not wanting Marinette to get drunk again, and operating on bad logic, Adrien keeps taking her half finished champagne flutes and then drinking them himself. He gets kinda trashed and starts acting foolish, so Marinette has them leave. In the car he can't stop complimenting her. His drunk ass thinks he is being poetic, but he is really just sounding kinda dumb, which Marinette thinks is cute. She has Madeline, the Agrest head of household happenings, get him to bed while she goes and changes to sleep. She goes to check on him to find him still awake and staring out his huge windows.

Adrien rambles about missing Ladybug, how he looked for her after the Mayor called for the desist of superheroics. He says he found Volpina once, just hanging out, but she hadn't seen her either. He said he thought he saw her on their ski trip, but it was just, her Marinette. He looked so broken inside that Marinette was tempted to tell him, but instead she just said she was sure Ladybug was fine, wherever she was and helped Adrien to bed. He asked her to stay and she did, trying to forget about how sad he had sounded as she was wrapped up in the arms of the guy she had been hoping would fall for her for years. Thinking that maybe he had fallen for her alter-ego a long time ago.

Marinette awakes first, poorly rested. She slips out of Adrien's arms, noticing his morning wood, and goes to get breakfast. She take it to the guest room to talk with Tiki, who slept a lot lately. She talked with the Kwami, who said, after thinking about it for a while, thought she might want to tell Adrien who she was. When asked why, Tiki said she would be leaving soon, which Marinette had expected, and that she would need proof if she was ever going to tell anyone. Adrien has a conversation with Plagg when he wakes up in which the cat tells him he almost blew it last night, and gave away his secret identity to Marinette, saying it's best to tell her outright, and not let it slip when you are drunk and sad.

Adrien is about to knock on the door to Marinette's room when she opens the door. She invites him in and he apologises for last night, which she tells him not to do, then he says he needs her to keep what he says next a secret. He then reveals himself, then she reveals herself. They say nothing for like a solid two minutes before releasing their transformations, and Adrien leaving immediately.

They go to another fashion show and act like everything is fine, both of them drinking rather heavily and then leaving early. In the car, Marinette leans on his shoulder and says how much she missed him. He expresses the same sentiment, leaning down to kiss her head. They stay like that, then walk into the Agrest manor hand in hand. When Marinette goes to break away and head to her room, Adrien kisses her deeply. It turns into full on hallway makeouts, with him whispering apologies and her whispering, it's alright. And it was.

 **Hope y'all feel like that would have been an ok way to wrap the story. Stay tuned for a cute little epilouge I wrote way in advance and would hate to go to waste!**


End file.
